Abstract

The classical "Bildungsroman" (novel of formation) - a literary genre developed in the nineteenth-century - depicts the overall growth of the central character from his or her youth to adulthood: as the story progresses, the subject undergoes noticeable mental, physical, social, emotional and moral advancement and strengthening before the reader's eyes. Usually, the plot depicts a conflict between the protagonist and the values of society. Finally, he or she accepts those values and they are integrated by the society, ending the dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, from Flaubert onwards, the "Bildungsroman" knows a structural transformation with a protagonist who does not attain maturity and an open-ended plot who depicts disillusion and failed socialization. The novel "Le Grand Meaulnes" (1913) by Alain-Fournier shows this process and rightfully belongs to the so-called novels of de-formation («Anti-bildungsroman»).